Running and Fund-raising

There was quite a crowd around the Granary when I went out on Saturday morning. Here are some of the runners queuing to get their numbers for the race between Hay and Kington:

I was on my way to Hay School for their first car boot sale since the new school was built. They don't have as much space to hold it as they used to when they had the playground and the field to spread out in - now there's only the school car park, but there were enough people there to have a good browse, and there was a tent at the end where the school was selling teas and coffees, and secondhand school uniforms. I met Huw, who was very pleased with a walking stick he'd just acquired, and I found a Thunderbird 3 model among the toys on another stall. The little boy asked for 20p but I gave him 50p. Now all I need is Thunderbird 5 to complete the set!

Meanwhile in the Buttermarket, Clyro School were having a jumble sale to raise money to build a Garden Laboratory. The idea is for the children to learn about science, nature, growing plants and our changing world in a practical way. The Garden Laboratory will include raised growing beds, a small forest garden and an open sided roofed area for classes to gather under shelter, but still outdoors. They will be able to undertake environmental experiments, conservation studies and learn natural crafts.
The fund raising will also, they hope, provide microscopes, insect study boxes, root viewing boxes, insect nets, hooks for drying flowers and seeds, soil sampling kits, craft tools and hand held garden equipment. There will be a water harvesting system (I think this is a posh term for a gutter, downpipe and water butt), and a weather station. The information from the weather station will be used back in the classrooms where the children can use maths, writing skills and ICT (whatever that is!) to report on the weather, sun and soil.
The whole project will cost around £6,000, and they have already had grants from Hay Cheese Market and Welsh Water, but they still have a lot of fund raising to do. The school is on Paypal, and if anyone is buying or selling on Ebay it is possible to donate to the Association of Friends of Clyro School via EbayCharity.